Overview of Postmodernism Characteristics in Trafford Centre
According to marketing analysts, postmodernism has great effects on contemporary marketing (Schroeder 2002, p. 31). Postmodernism ensures that marketing elements and strategies are maintained in relation to the past classical forms (Schroeder 2002, p. 37).
The concept of postmodernism has led to redefinition of marketing from what it used to be (Bocock 1993, p. 62). Some of the characteristics of postmodernism include fragmentation, hyper-reality and de-differentiation (Bocock 1993, p. 63).
Fragmentation is an important component of postmodern marketing (Frank 1997, p. 88). Fragmentation asserts that the concept of postmodernism originated from the field of architecture (Frank 1997, p. 89).
In contemporary marketing, fragmentation is a wrongful use of information for unfair gains (Frank 1997, p. 90). Fragmentation assists postmodernists to circulate hidden information within the field of marketing (Hackley 2001, p. 55: Parsons & Maclaran 2012, p. 16).
Hyper-reality unlike fragmentation refers to how postmodernists combine fictitious and real things to blind other individuals from recognizing the difference between the two things (Bocock 1993, p. 65). Postmodern philosophers use semiotics, which are a part of hyper-reality, to assess and observe signs and other things that happen around people (Bocock 1993, p. 66).
De-differentiation is also a component of postmodernism used by marketers to reap advantages over other individuals (Schroeder 2002, p. 45). The concept of de-differentiation mainly involves the changes made on products to enhance differentiation (Schroeder 2002, p. 46).
Marketing differentiation refers to the way marketers describe disparities in their products with an aim of influencing the potential buyers to purchase their products and shun those of their rivals (Heath 2004, p. 98).
Effects of Fragmentation, Hyper-reality, and De-differentiation on Trafford Centre
Fragmentation
Fragmentation affects how marketing is done in Trafford Centre (Miller 1995, p. 11). Since fragmentation exists on its own, it is used as an “ironic brick-a-brack” to combine the traditional marketing styles and strategies to produce a more effective marketing strategy that can produce attractive results (Miller 1995, p. 13).
Fragmentation has been used in the Trafford Shopping Centre to break marketing information, which is contrary to what people expect (Brown 1995, p. 24). After breaking the information, the postmodern marketers then restructure the broken information to pass a hidden message to the potential buyers (Brown 1995, p. 26).
The potential buyers in the case of fragmentation make their decisions based on the wrong information conveyed to them by marketers (Brown 1995, p. 33). Before the marketers think of fragmenting the information, they first study the nature of the target market (Brown 1995, p. 34).
If the target market is composed of people who are not so illiterate, but has great interest for the products sold in Trafford Centre, they easily feed them with the hidden messages to speed up the decision making process (Maclaran, Catterall & Stevens 2000, p. 13).
Hyper-reality
The concept of hyper-reality is also felt in Trafford Centre; however, it deals in both counterfeit and valid products (Miller 1995, p. 16). The different products have been blended in a way that buyers cannot easily distinguish the real products from the counterfeit ones (Miller 1995, p. 17).
Sometimes the line between the counterfeit and the original products is so thin that the buyers fail to have even the slightest idea about what is real and what is reproduced (Miller 1995, p. 20).
Hyper-reality in Trafford Centre is also done through proxies (Brown 1995, p. 37). Postmodern markers use proxies to take other marketers’ ideas regarding the products that are sold in the shops and make them look like their own (Brown 1995, p. 38).
The marketers who steal others’ ideas do it so as to win customers from their rival shops (Maclaran, Catterall & Stevens 2000, p. 17). In the case of proxies, the marketers do not apply so many tactics to change the ideas, they simply redefine the words and then they appear as if they are original (Hackley 2001, p. 58).
De-differentiation
De-differentiation is used in Trafford Centre to enhance competitive advantage between different firms (Maclaran, Catterall & Stevens 2000, p. 18). It is one of the contemporary marketing strategies used by the shops to win customers from other businesses that stock similar products (Frank 1997, p. 96: Proctor 2000, p. 40).
The markers do not differentiate the products, but they simply make a few changes to them (Kozinets, Cova & Shankar 2007, p. 121). De-differentiation is used in the shops to make products of a particular firm look completely unique (Frank 1997, p. 97).
De-differentiation to an extent, has been used in Trafford Centre to promote monopolistic competition, which is stronger than perfect competition (Heath 2004, p. 102). Some of the marketers in Trafford have redesigned their products to attract a greater number of buyers to their shops (Heath 2004, p. 103: Blythe 2008, p. 33).
The shops, which have redesigned their products to appear very attractive, have managed to retain the customers (Kozinets, Cova & Shankar 2007, p. 123).
Conclusion
The concept of postmodernism has great effects on contemporary marketing. For instance, the concept has led to redefinition of marketing from what it used to be in the modern period. The major characteristics of postmodernism are fragmentation, hyper-reality and de-differentiation.
Fragmentation refers to wrongful use of information for unfair gains while hyper-reality and de-differentiation assist marketers to redesign counterfeit products to look like genuine ones. Trafford Centre is an example of shopping centres where the effects of postmodernism are evident.
In Trafford Centre, fragmentation is used to influence the way customers make decisions. Hyper-reality and de-differentiation are used in the shopping centre to change the outlook of products or to make counterfeit products look genuine.
References
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